This is a quick and highly versatile recipe that is more of a technique than something to follow exactly as described. The result is more portions than I would usually make for my needs, but can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days and mixed with other things while reheating to obtain different flavor profiles. That is, however, assuming that you do not add too much to the base recipe when first cooking it. For example, the next morning after making this as described, I reheated a portion along with an egg, shredded cheese, hot sauce, and a couple corn tortillas to make breakfast burritos.
While the result is more along the lines of what I could call “comfort food” instead of “elevated dining”, I like comfort food–especially things that can be cooked on a Sunday afternoon and used in different ways throughout the week for other meals. One note is that if you end up not using bacon and not substituting it with something that will not release as much fat into the pan, (e.g. diced ham or slices of cooked sausage), then more oil should be added initially. Different vegetables, (or none at all), may be used or added. I just happened to have some frozen peas that had been around a bit that I wanted to use up when making this. Along those same lines, I had a can of red pinto beans in my pantry that I chose for this, but other types of beans could have been used.
Timings
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Wait: 25 minutes
Total: 40 minutes
Equipment Notes
- I use a 10in skillet with high sides for this
Ingredients
- 2 strips bacon, diced
- 1t neutral oil
- 1/2 (about 2C) large onion, diced
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and diced
- 1/2t salt
- 1/2t pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
- 1t ground cumin
- 2C chicken stock
- 1C long-grain white rice, optionally washed a few times until the water is mostly clear
- 1C frozen peas
- 1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
Steps
- Add the bacon to a cold skillet and put on the stove over medium heat. If not using bacon, then just warm the oil, (plus an additional 2t–or 1T total–of it), until it starts to shimmer. Otherwise wait until the fat released from the bacon just starts to bubble and then add the additional 1t of oil.
- Add the onion, jalapeño, salt, and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes or until the onions start to turn translucent, stirring occasionally.
- Add the garlic and cumin, and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Add the chicken stock, turn the heat up to medium high, and scrape off any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.
- Add the rice, peas, and beans, and stir well.
- When the liquid just starts to simmer, cover the pan and turn the heat down to low. Cook for 15 minutes without removing the lid.
- Turn off the heat and let the pan sit untouched on the stove for an additional 10 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the stove, uncover, and fluff the mixture with a fork. If the rice is not tender or there is too much liquid in the pan, then set back on the stove on medium heat to cook or dry things out further.